GM CEO says Opel not for sale

General Motors CEO reiterated its Opel unit was not for sale, following a French media report that PSA Peugeot Citroen could take over the troubled European arm of the U.S. automaker.

"Opel is not for sale," CEO Dan Akerson told reporters at the Detroit auto show. "It's not to be given away either."

Peugeot could take over Opel with backing from GM and the French state under an option currently being looked at, newspaper La Tribune reported earlier on Monday.

GM would be prepared to contribute several billion euros to facilitate the transaction and make it attractive to Peugeot, La Tribune said, citing unnamed sources close to the matter.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)